going green

I took a couple of quizes to check my ecological friendliness vs my ecological footprint...

The Ecological Footprint is a resource management tool that measures how much land and water area a human population requires to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb its wastes under prevailing technology.

In order to live, we consume what nature offers. Every action impacts the planet's ecosystems. This is of little concern as long as human use of resources does not exceed what the Earth can renew.

But are we taking more?"

Calculating this number can be a real eye opener. I recycle, I try to think green, we only own one car, and I personally walk to work more often than not. We try to conserve energy, keep lights off, turn the water off while we brush, remove ourselves from junkmail lists, receive our bills via email to reduce paper usage... etc, but our results shocked me.

I'll have to try harder!

visit http://www.earthday.net/footprint/ to calculate your Ecological Footprint.

Our Household results:
CATEGORY ACRES
FOOD 5.9
MOBILITY 0.2
SHELTER 2.5
GOODS/SERVICES 2.5
TOTAL FOOTPRINT 11

IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 24 ACRES PER PERSON.

WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 4.5 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE ACRES PER PERSON. IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 2.5 PLANETS.

So, in addition to the the things we already do, I'm going to try to do more...

~buy/use CFLs (x22)
(2/3 less energy than standard incandescent light bulbs, and last up to 10 times longer. Replacing a 60-watt incandescent with a 13-watt CFL can save you at least $30 in energy costs over the life of the bulb... So not only is this an ecologically sound choice, it's also a $660 savings in my energy bill over the lifetime of these bulbs!)

~Recycle more efficiently, repurpose more of our waste via freecycle/goodwill etc...

~Eat less meat (not thinking that's really going to happen)

~Shop at the local farmer's market (do they sell meats there?)

~Keep an eye on the thermostat, keep it a notch or two lower in winter, a notch or two higher in summer - close the blinds on south side to reduce cooling bills and energy consumption when it's hot out.

~Find more eco-friendly cleaning products (that I can live with, that vinegar friggin' stinks! Suggestions anyone?)

Help me out people, what do you do? What am I not thinking of?
I already use hand towels vs paper towels most of the time... I suppose I should stop using paper plates for dinner huh? :-| I reuse and/or recycle grocery bags (who doesn't use the grocery bags for every damn thing, right?) I'll bet there are 100 stupid-easy things I'm not thinking of...

Oy vey

I started my new job a couple weeks ago, and one of the other girls sprained her ankle or some such thing, so I've ben pulling my shifts, plus covering hers. I've never worked so much for so little money *rolls eyes* I just finished my second split shift of the weekend. That sounds like it means something, but I've actually worked 5 days (7 shifts) and only have 21 hours. Good grief. There *is* a point to this job, right? I'm beginning to doubt it.

April Fool's '08

Ha! I didn't fall for ANYONE'S practical joke today.

Primarily because no one tried to put one over on me.

I started a new job today. I wasn't thrilled about going back to work to be honest, but you know, you do what you gotta do... but I got there, and 45 minutes into the shift, I go out to smoke with Karissa and Rick (The owner's son and his fiancee) and listen to 10 minutes of them ranting about the fact that anyone who isn't white and American born is trash, no good, nasty, useless and doesn't deserve to breathe. Not a great way to start out. I'm a little weird about bigotry, ignorance, racism and blatant stupidity. But I figure I didn't want to go back to work, and maybe I'm judging too harshly, you know? I should stop jumping to conclusions and give them a chance right?

I mean, it's part time night work running a register and delivering food, not a lifelong career...

Did I say night shift? Yes, I MUST have said night shift, because I don't have a sitter for days... except that I work DAY SHIFT Thursday through Monday!?!?!?!

*sigh*

So, whatever. I'll see how it goes.

Tonight my goal is to send AHA donation requests to all the teachers at Kassi and Brendon's schools. So I better stop yacking and start emailing!